Various types of outdoor lighting fixtures are known. Such fixtures typically serve both utilitarian and decorative purposes in that they aid in lighting outdoor lawns, decks, patios, parking lots, driveways, and other areas, as well as being of an attractive design to complement such areas.
One aspect of existing 120 V outdoor light fixtures detracting from the decorative nature of these fixtures is the need for an electrical connector device separate from the shade unit bearing the light bulb of the fixture to connect the supply wires from the power source to the lamp. The electrical connector device typically known as a junction box is typically housed in a box-like structure. These additional boxes are bulky and detract from the appearance of the outdoor light fixture. A representative form of such a conventional outdoor light fixture is shown in FIG. 1. Some non-120 V outdoor light fixtures do not require junction boxes such as the low voltage fixture described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,636 to Lovett.
Some present outdoor light fixture manufacturers attempt to avoid the unsightliness of the separate connector box in various ways. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,877 to Carter, a plastic light standard has a length of plastic pipe with a cap at one end and a slanted cut-off portion at the opposite end. The cap includes an outside threaded nipple or an inside threaded hub for securing a light fixture to the pipe. The slanted cut-off end of the pipe allows the pipe standard to receive the ends of underground pipe at various depths in the ground. While the arrangement disclosed in the '877 patent presents a somewhat less bulky landscape fixture than the fixture shown in FIG. 1, the separate standard still detracts from the overall appearance of the landscape lighting fixture as can be seen in FIG. 1 of the '877 patent.
Other fixtures, known as bollard-type fixtures differ from typical 120 V landscape fixtures in that they are mounted on a wide diameter post (compare FIG. 1 of this application with U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,018). These wide diameter posts can accommodate supply wire connections.
Thus, a 120 V landscape lighting fixture having an area for connection of electrical circuits which does not detract from the overall appearance of the lighting fixture is needed.